Thessaly
Thessaly, City of Silver Blossoms (Town) Located on the second layer Buxenus of the plane Arcadia Character: Thessaly is a town of old, rich harmonies. Time has lent it a burnished grandeur like the finest wines and antiques, with a flourish generations have worked to perfect. Nothing much changes, because it's a place that's attained its own ideal. Ruler: Gloriana (Pl/female human/W (enchanter) 8, F 16/LG), Queen of the Silver Blossoms, is the hereditary leader of the domain. She has black hair, olive skin, and goggles made from finely crafted silver mithril and glassteel. She is known for her wild exploits on her albino bee, Milky, and her disregard for tradition. Few trust her, but she is important as a symbol of the society. Fortunately, she leaves most of the real power to her Beemaster, Venigan. Behind the Throne: Prince Venigan (Pl/male human/F 9/LG), Master of Bees. Venigan is the son of Gloriana's mother's sister, born on the very same day. He loves his queen as if she was his own sister, and he has been poisoning her for over a year. The traditional duties of the Beemaster are seeing to the care of and training of the giant bumblebees of the domain, but Venigan actually handles all the affairs of state, needing only the presence of his cousin as a figurehead to maintain his authority while allowing Gloriana to continue to do what she wished with her time. Unfortunately, the queen decided to leave the throne and join the Harmonium five seasons ago, and nothing Venigan could say would dissuade her. Knowing the city would lose the independence it had long struggled to maintain without its lawful ruler, becoming a mere vassal state of Ortho, Venigan took to slipping his liege drugs that sapped her will while causing things to remain outwardly the same. The Harmonium isn't happy that their prospective recruit changed her mind, but questioning agents have all been turned away. Gloriana: Our culture is stagnant and insular. Groups only two week's flight from here have never heard of us. Venigan: We reject foreign contaminants. We're an old society, Gloriana, with a proud and noble system of traditions and arts. We do not deserve to be subjected to the homogenization that has killed so much else of value on this plane. Gloriana: What you call homogenization is only a move to selflessness; a willingness to give up the old ways in order to establish a system that can work for all, not just an elite few who happen to be born in the right place at the right time. If we stop clinging to backward tribalism and silly pride, we can harness the faith of the masses to create real peace for everyone. The Harmonium draws on the notes of many cultures in order to create a symphony greater than the sum of its parts. Venigan: It's you who are being selfish (sarcastic emphasis) *Your Highness. * You're letting your own pet ideas get in the way of your duty to your people, who don't deserve to be forcibly made a part of someone else's symphony. Gloriana: My duty is to all peoples. I love our state, but it's only a single note. The greater good must be served. Venigan: (aside) I'm sorry, Gloriana. I can't let you kill us. Description: Shining stems thicker than tree trunks stretch hundreds of feet into the air, terminating in great blossoms of shining silver color, atop which is built a town connected by slim but sturdy bridges. Its buildings are predominantly bulb-shaped and mostly open windows filled with bright glass. On the ground is a secondary city built in a giant bumblebee nest. The Nest City The tunnels beneath are sturdy and lined with stone and wood, engineered over the millennia for the convenience of both wagons and bee-riders. They all lead to a great circular chamber, like an amphitheater with rows and rows of circular walkways leading to beehouses and egg chambers. Human aides, stable cleaners, knights, and squires rush in and out of them, down the great stone steps. There is enough room in the tunnels for several lanes of traffic, so that even the flight of the great bees are no hinderance. The Nest City has several queens throughout it, cared for and kept at peace by human caretakers assisting the worker bees. Each queen forms a small mound of pollen paste in the middle of her individual nest, lays several eggs in it, and seals it with a small dome of wax. She also constructs a hemispherical wax cup, called a honeypot, in the entranceway floor and fills it with nectar. The queen feeds on this nectar while she incubates the eggs. The newly hatched larvae partially consume the paste in their cells. Later they are fed by the queen through a small opening in the cell wall. When the larvae are fully grown, they spin cocoons in which they metamorphose, eventually emerging as the first workers of the new colony. Subsequent larvae are reared by these workers in individual cells, much as honeybee larvae are; however, the bumblebee nest is not organized into flat, vertical combs like that of honey bees but grows instead into a mound of capsule like cells. Toward the end of summer, the queen begins to lay unfertilized eggs that develop into drones. Female offspring produced at this time become new queens, and mating takes place soon afterward. The drones and workers then die, they are disposed of by human caretakers who scrub the floors clean. The new, mated queens are guided to a nearby empty chamber and the cycle begins again. Pollination Bumblebees are an integral part of the local ecosystem. They have pollinated the great flowering plants here far longer than there have been humans, but the presence of humans has helped them thrive and dominate the other kinds of giant insects. Both queens and workers collect pollen and transport it back to the colony in pollen baskets on their hind legs. Workers are relatively small if born early in the year, and large if born later in the year. Militia: Gloriana's loyal militia is mounted on great bumblebees, and usually called knights or cavaliers. Their loyalty is first to the Queen, though the Master of Bees (or, during some reigns, a separate Chancellor of War) oversees most of their duties. A strict code of honor has governed all of their remaining actions for as far back as anyone can remember. Services: Bumblebee breeding, flowers, nectar, bards and music. This part of Arcadia contains many flowers of great, tree-like size, pollinated by the bumblebees. There is a considerable market for these blossoms elsewhere, both fresh and dried; it takes only a year for such a flower to grow. Music in Thessaly includes a lot of mellow strings and woodwinds, played to harmonize with the hums of the bees. It seems erratic, but it follows traditional patterns exactly. There is also a nearby silver mine which has yielded a slow but steady stream of metal since before the city was built. A small god lives down there, creating metal in exchange for worship and statues in his honor. Thessalian goods will be marketed by specially educated citizens in several places in Arcadia and Sigil. From there, merchants take them across the planes. Current Chant: Killeen Caine (briefly described in the Factol's Manifesto), Arcadia's highest-ranking Hardhead, has begun looking for outsiders to gain an audiance with the queen of Thessaly. He knows that his own factioneers are turned away, but he won't give up until he has an answer to Gloriana's sudden turn of mind. Category:Settlements in Arcadia